In the fast-paced world of the twenty-first century, the ability to attend to multiple tasks at the same time or to rapidly switch between multiple tasks is highly valued. However, many tasks are resource dependent and in attempting to multitask, people may tie up resources in the service of a task which they are not actively attending to. Where resources and property are reserved but left idle by one actor as a result of that actor's attention being diverted to an alternative task, other actors are deprived of the opportunity to use those resources and property toward productive endeavors of their own. Problems caused by idle resources and property are exacerbated when the resources and property are communally owned by a community or the public.
As the human population continues to grow, ever-greater numbers of people rely on public and community resources. Business models that provide for collaborative consumption and use of resources are becoming increasingly commonplace and experiencing ever-greater levels of success. Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in purchasing the right to use or exercise control over a resource for some period of time as opposed to more traditional methods of purchasing the exclusive right to use or exercise control over a resource. Efficient collaborative use of resources is also important to businesses that provide shared resources as an incidental value added to the purchase of other goods and service. In such business models, the average overall customer experience is directly related to the efficiency with which such shared resources are utilized.
In other cases, attempts to multitask may result in property and resources being left idle in a manner that may pose a threat to other people who come into contact with the property or resource. Similarly, property and resources may be left idle in a manner that does not pose a threat but merely troubles or confuses passer-bys. For example, while running into a store, a driver might leave a car parked very close to an intersection with its hazard lights on and thereby increase the risk of an automobile accident by reducing visibility near the intersection. In other cases, a driver may temporarily park in a parking space owned by another driver and thereby inconvenience the owner of the parking space. Such situations evidence the fact that the temporary abandonment of property can impose externalities on others.